Update from STOP Re: Division in FLY

It
is with a heavy heart that we write this letter to inform you that a division
has occurred in Fearless Leading by the Youth (FLY). We are writing to give
context to what happened and so that everyone understands that while this is
painful, it is also an opportunity for us, and youth organizing across the City
and Nation, to grow stronger. A small group of FLY members have unilaterally
decided to take the name FLY and separate themselves from STOP. These
individuals no longer have any affiliation with STOP or STOP’s youth program
FLY. STOP will re-found our youth program with a new name.

Fearless Leading by the Youth (FLY) was
formed under the umbrella of Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP) in
2007. STOP’s mission is to advance economic and
social human rights by organizing and developing leadership among people most
affected by economic and racial oppression. Since 2007 STOP
has worked with youth leaders of FLY to develop their leadership to advocate
for change in their community. We engage low-income Black youth in organizing
to shape healthcare, juvenile justice, and related policies that directly
affect them and their communities. We develop leadership through organizing
training and popular education.

STOP worked with
FLY to found the Audy Home Campaign which has fought to shut down the Juvenile
Detention Center and invest in restorative justice alternatives. In the past 2
years we worked in coalition to win $1M of investment in restorative justice
alternatives. We also worked with FLY to found the Trauma Center Campaign and
the Trauma Care Coalition which after a 5 year battle has won a commitment to
build the only level 1 trauma center on the south side of Chicago at the
University of Chicago Hospital. Over the last 9 years we have developed strong
Black youth leaders who have led transformative organizing in Chicago.

A rift has
developed in FLY. The root cause of this rift is a combination of conflicts
over: individuals making decisions for the group without consulting the group, differences
over core values, and homophobic and sexist behavior.

Over
the past year we have been engaging in a process to address these issues by:

1)Developing a code of conduct that specifies
homophobic and sexist behavior which we do not tolerate, in addition to other
oppressive behaviors not tolerated. We are also developing trainings on our
code of conduct for our board, staff, and members.

2)Facilitating restorative justice peace
circles between members.

3)Supporting Board and Staff to take
leadership roles to address these issues.

A
small group of FLY members have unilaterally decided to walk away from this
process and misappropriate the use of the name FLY outside of the democratic
decision-making structure.

Many strong and
powerful youth leaders will continue to work with STOP to further grow our
youth organizing program. Together we will re-found our youth program with a
new name. With them we will continue to fight for trauma care, criminal justice
reform, healthcare for all, and justice for all young Black people and all
oppressed people. No one owns these struggles.

We are taking
this moment as an opportunity to re-center our youth organizing, as well as our
other organizing work regarding the way systems of oppression play out within
our organization. We are taking this moment as an opportunity to focus on
rebuilding a structure which stands up for and centers those who are most
directly harmed by sexism, homophobia, transphobia and other oppressions. We are
also rebuilding a structure which ensures democratic decision-making so that
youth truly have a voice in shaping this organization. To those who left us, we
wish them the best in standing up for their community and advancing struggles
for human rights.

If you have any
questions, concerns, or would like to discuss the above please do not hesitate
to contact the STOP Board Vice President Deborah Taylor at southsidestop@gmail.com or 773 217 9598.